Sima Bina

Sima Bina

A lifetime of dedicated work on Persian folk music has made Sima Bina a legendary characterin the history of Iranian music.

Her singing careerbegins at the age of 10 with a popular radio program for children. Her musicaltalent drives her into taking music more seriously. She studied and perfectedPersian classical music with some of the great masters, and when she attainedthe artistic maturity to decide on her musical path, she chose to devote herlife to reviving the folk music of her homeland.

The fascination for Iranian folk music and songs had been ignited by her father, her first music teacherand songwriter. But, ironically its development into a lifetime commitment coincidedwith a historical time when her musical activities were banned in her homeland. Sima, however, maintains that it was ablessing in disguise. She says, “Whenyou can’t perform, people are taken away from you. So your focus shifts moreseriously to what you search for in life.”

In more than thirtyyears, by traveling to some of the most remote places all over Iran, Sima Bina collectedan assortment of almost forgotten folk songs and melodies. By recomposing the folksongsand tunes for her performance, Sima has formed her own distinctive style in Iranianfolk music.

Since 1993 Sima Binahas accepted invitations to perform her music worldwide in prestigiousfestivals and organized concerts. The worldwide recognition her music receivestoday is the materialization of over forty years of her devotion to Iranianfolk music.

While pursuingIranian folksongs, Sima often came across a variety of ethnic lullabies whichshe added to her collected works. This collection finally led to her book, IranianLullabies in 2009. In this book, SimaBina not only shares her findings, her perception, the scores and visualexpression of the selected lullabies with mothers, she also presents fortyoriginal Iranian lullabies in four CDs in which her vocal is sometimes blended withthe singing of the mothers who had song the lullabies to her in different partsof Iran.

Sima continues topresent Iranian folksongs in World Music festivals and concerts, while furtherexploring hidden folksongs in the vast plateau of Iran. She is currently working on Balouch music andmaintains documenting her findings of Iranian folksongs and music. (Sima Bina's Official Website)